This study argues that assuring people that their lost wages will be compensated during a self-quarantine is likely an important part of achieving compliance with public health regulations.

All over the world, in an attempt to contain COVID-19, health authorities have called for self-quarantine of individuals who have been thought to have been exposed to the virus. We hope the public will comply, but research suggests that a loss of income is a major hurdle to compliance for household quarantine.

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of the adult population of Israel in the last week of February 2020 to determine the public attitudes toward the outbreak. Compliance rates with self-quarantine were assessed depending on how well lost wages were compensated. The results suggest that when compensation was assumed, compliance rate was 94%, but when compensation was now, compliance dropped to less than 57%.